In manufacturing and research, the quality and consistency of surface treatments directly impact performance and reliability. Traditional measurement tools, like standard goniometers, often struggle to provide accurate, repeatable contact angle measurements on complex surfaces. Brighton Science’s BConnect system is designed to outperform these standards, offering precision, speed, and versatility in surface characterization.
Whether developing new materials, optimizing manufacturing processes, or maintaining critical components, knowing the exact surface energy of your parts is essential. Small variations can impact:
BConnect uses advanced methods to provide highly sensitive, repeatable, and traceable measurements that exceed the capabilities of standard goniometers.
At the heart of BConnect is our patented Ballistic Deposition technology, which constructs a controlled drop on a surface from a series of microdrops. Key advantages include:
BCMobile uses a top-down imaging approach that tightly controls drop volume and precisely characterizes drop geometry. By combining custom edge-finding software with machine-learning-based droplet detection, BCMobile returns accurate and repeatable water contact angle values in under two seconds.
Machine learning is used to automatically identify the precise edge of the water droplet in each measurement. The model is trained on a large and diverse set of real-world images in which droplet boundaries are carefully labeled. By learning the visual characteristics that define a true droplet edge across different surfaces, lighting conditions, and droplet shapes, BCMobile reliably detects the correct boundary in real time. This improves both measurement consistency and accuracy, especially in environments where traditional edge-detection methods struggle.
This top-down approach delivers excellent repeatability, with standard deviations of less than one degree on well-prepared, atomically uniform surfaces. It also provides significantly improved accuracy at very low contact angles, which is critical for applications such as precision cleaning of optics, medical components, and high-reliability electronics. The approach enables measurement on flat, concave, convex, and channeled surfaces. Under most conditions, results fall within one degree of NIST-traceable water contact angle standards, exceeding the performance of traditional side-view goniometers.
BConnect redefines contact angle measurement, delivering precision, speed, and sensitivity that support high-stakes aerospace applications. By providing traceable, repeatable, and highly localized surface measurements, it empowers R&D teams, engineers, and QC professionals to maintain the highest standards of quality and performance.
For teams seeking faster, more accurate surface characterization, BConnect isn’t just an upgrade, it’s a new standard.
Q: How does BConnect compare to traditional side-view goniometers?
A: BConnect outperforms standard goniometers by providing higher sensitivity to surface energy changes, better repeatability, and sub-degree accuracy even on low contact angles. Unlike side-view goniometers, BConnect can measure concave, convex, or channel surfaces with precise drop placement.
Q: Can BConnect measure very small or complex areas?
A: Yes. Thanks to our Ballistic Deposition technology, BConnect can create drops as small as 1 mm, allowing for accurate surface characterization on small, intricate, or localized regions.
Q: Does surface roughness affect measurements?
A: No. BConnect’s approach is robust against changes in roughness, so you get reliable and repeatable contact angle measurements on textured, patterned, or uneven surfaces.
Q: Is the measurement process destructive or invasive?
A: No. The non-contact deposition ensures that sensitive surfaces are not damaged or contaminated during measurement.
Understanding surface quality is just the first step. To see how your organization stacks up in leveraging surface data across R&D, manufacturing, and quality, explore Brighton Science’s Surface Intelligence Maturity Model.